1. Field
The aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to vibration isolation and in particular to vibration damping links used to dampen tension and compression forces,
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Generally, vibration isolation is obtained by mounting a vibration producing element such as an engine or turbine on a resilient member. In one aspect, the resilient member is an elastic dampening member such as a rubber bushing. In other aspects, metallic springs may be used to dampen vibrations; however, metallic springs are heavier and more sensitive to fatigue than their elastomeric counterparts. The increased weight may be undesirable in fields such as aerospace due to increased fuel costs and lifting capacities of the aerospace vehicles. In still other aspects, fluid dampers may be used, but again fluid dampers are heavier than their elastomeric counterparts and cannot react quickly enough to dampen high frequency vibrations. In addition, fluid dampers are more difficult to tailor for natural frequency vibrations than other conventional vibration dampers. Pneumatic dampers may also be used but the pneumatic dampers do not have the reliability of an elastomeric based design.
In addition, conventional vibration isolation using elastomeric designs are generally used where the elastomer is subjected to both tension and compression loads, e.g., the ends of the elastomer are chemically or mechanically bonded to links of the vibration damper.